India preparing to submit new climate targets to UN in September crisis.

India is set to finally submit official plans to cut emissions to the United Nations (UN), as one of the world's largest polluters backs away from a threat to withhold more climate commitments until rich nations provide more funds for poorer countries. The country is preparing to put forward the document - an obligation under the Paris Agreement - in September, according to sources, just weeks before crucial COP27 climate talks in Egypt, and close to a year after countries were told to submit updated targets by the UN. India's delay has been striking given Prime Minister Narendra Modi's surprise announcement at COP26 that his country would reach net-zero emissions by 2070. In the short term, he said the country would build enough carbon-free electricity generation capacity to reach 500GW by the end of the decade. But Mr Modi has also said that further ambition from India depends on financial help from rich countries. In Glasgow, he argued that India alone should get USD1tn in climate funding out to 2030. Mr Modi's demands are unlikely to be met. Rich nations have said that they will only be able to meet a 2020 goal to provide USD100bn a year in climate finance to poorer countries in 2023.